Once Upon a Time in the West go see it :P

[Penny]

If you haven't already Once Upon a Time in the West, a Sergio Leone film, there's lots to be said about why it is good but. yeah. great film, just thought id mention it. seeing as Im doing a re-watch at the moment

If you already watched it, what was your favourite part, and if you havent and end up watching it because of this thread, post your opinion

 

[Matteo]

What are we going to do with him Frank?
Well, now that you've called me by name...

And that opening sequence! I've actually watched only this several times.

For my money, better than Fistful/Few Dollars More/Good, Bad, Ugly (or Django and Great Silence).

 

[HareBrain]

What are we going to do with him Frank?
Well, now that you've called me by name...

And that opening sequence!

Those would be my choices too. I love the fact that the opening sequence was shot to work around the score that Morricone had already composed.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Henry Fonda's only role as a bad guy. Great film.

 

[J Riff]

Just watched it, very good western. Bronson is not actually playing that harmonica though...

 

[HanaBi]

The opening scene is immense. It's like watching a film within a film, and so typical of Leone to set the scene and begin winding up the tension very very slowly. (That scene is also quite infamous because one of the cowboys waiting for Bronson at the station, committed suicide shortly afterwards)

Another memorable scene is the first appearance of Henry Fonda, and those piercing blue eyes of his. I would never have imagined he would agree to play a bad guy given how wholesome an actor he was considered to be. But be pulls it off brilliantly here, and for me remains one of my favourite roles of his.

The film itself is probably my favourite western, but due its length you really have to be in the mood to watch it to completion. The only other western that comes close is Eastwood's "Unforgiven"

 

[reiver33]

It looks like we’re shy one horse.

You brought two too many.

 

[HanaBi]

Of course the ending is hugely emotional.....



SPOILER

After killing Frank, Harmonica says his goodbyes to Jill even though she was probably secretly hoping he would stay and help build her new station. But as Cheyenne summised Harmonica is not the right man for her and that he must move on.

"I hope you come back some day!" she pleads.
"Some day" he replies, and walks off into the sunset, shortly followed by Cheyenne, leaving her all on her own. But rather than giving up and feeling sorry for herself, she just gets on with it and finally sees her town under construction with a new railroad running through it.


All beautifully set through some inspiring camerawork and of course the musical genius of Ennio Morricone.

It's a great shame the film bombed at the box office back in the late 60s, but due to its length, and the fairly complex storyline, not helped by having Fonda playing the bad guy, its easy to see why. Especially when western fans compare it to Leone's earlier Dollar films with far more action and a clearly defined hero at the end in Clint Eastwood.

 

[Overread]

Sergio Leone's films are ones which I can't have on the TV as a background noise whilst doing something else. You either watch it or you just turn it off. It's an expert display of making the visual side of cinema a huge part of the experience in watching the film. The tension he builds up in a scene; the fact that nothing can happen or that a tiny series of motions becomes such a huge part of a scene is fantastic. It's honestly sad to me that Hollywood has, by and large, abandoned this style of film making (and mostly just throws in more and more explosions*); indeed I mostly only see it being used in part by Tarantino who seems to like the similar style of telling a scene visually with the characters and camera. I'm reminded of the scene in Django when Django escapes and heads out to shoot the escaped slave hunters; for a few minutes you stroll through the hunters home; what were (before that scene) faceless baddies (goons) became characters. Within those few moments you get a small degree of empathy, curiosity, wonder, a little glimpse into their life when they are not being goons**


*And honestly a lot of them are not satisfying explosions. A fact that was highlighted to me when I saw The Quick and the Dead the other week. In that there's two or three houses blown up near the end and the explosion is far more real and impacting than many of those thousands that we are shown in a Bay film. Indeed the modern explosion is almost throwaway

** In a lot of films henchmen and even leading baddies are often shown only in their element; we get little sense of them as a character or person outside of those moments.

 

[Penny]

@HanaBi use the spoiler tags [ spoiler ] followed by [ /spoiler ] no spaces between the brackets and it looks like this

Spoiler

muahahah this is a seecret

It is largely studio pressures that have led to the shift in film storytelling styles, plus the change in our culture to being one needing instant gratification over the slow buildup.

When people actually see some slow buildup they go oh wow this is really good, they just don't realise it until they actually experience it.

 

[HanaBi]

@HanaBi use the spoiler tags [ spoiler ] followed by [ /spoiler ] no spaces between the brackets and it looks like this

Spoiler

muahahah this is a seecret

It is largely studio pressures that have led to the shift in film storytelling styles, plus the change in our culture to being one needing instant gratification over the slow buildup.

When people actually see some slow buildup they go oh wow this is really good, they just don't realise it until they actually experience it.

Found them now, thanks. Guess I had a brain-freeze moment back then.

 

[Danny Creasy]

Henry Fonda's only role as a bad guy. Great film.

Oh no, Fonda also played a baddie in Firecreek: Firecreek (1968) - IMDb

 

[Danny Creasy]

My favorite performance in Once Upon a Time in the West is presented by Jason Robards.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Oh no, Fonda also played a baddie in Firecreek: Firecreek (1968) - IMDb

Thanks! I didn't know that, and I always thought Once Upon a Time in the West was unique in that regard.

 

[The Big Peat]

I think my favourite moment is the very last duel and the camera work there. We've got from the bustle of advancing civilisation and we pan from the homely house until there's only the stark endless rock and dust, and two men. That shot reinforces what we've already heard them say - that they've rejected modern life and its compromises for atavistic satisfaction - and says it so much louder.

Ironically, that's not a message I really agree with - but as a piece of storytelling, its masterful.